So Lorenzo and Alessio had a good idea for a post, we are going to crown Serie A's Ugliest Footballer. There are quite a few of them, and this is the post where we'll nominate footballers. I'll list some here, and if you have a nomination state it in the comments section and I'll add him to the running.

In the present state of modern football with the physical nature of the game becoming more important than the technical nature, there seems to be less and less room for the fantasista, a player that has always been the focal point in the Italian game. The fantasista is the player with sublime technique, the player that you pay to watch, the one that can change the game at any second.

Palermo and Italy goalkeeper Marco Amelia said saving Ronaldinho's penalty kick was "like playing Playstation". Now I bet tons of clubs will be getting calls from FIFA '09 addicts saying they should get a trial because they are good at saving penalties on Playstation. Roundup after the jump.

Since their existence, the Italian national team has always worn "Azzurro", the shade of blue that is known in the English-speaking world as "Azure Blue". The color comes from the Royal family of Savoia, and all of Italy's national sports team wear it to this day. That's where the national team got their nickname, "Gli Azzurri".

Happy Thanksgiving (or Tacchino Day) to all the Italy Offside readers! Enjoy your day and eat lots of food! I tried to find a picture of an Italian turkey, this the best I could do (or google image search could do), a turkey with the Italian name for turkey next to it.

This now leads me to my bad Italian calcio Thanksgiving joke:

Which Italian soccer player's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving?

Roberto Baggio. Giuseppe Signori. Marco Di Vaio. What do all these players have in common? Yes they are all Italian, yes they are all strikers, but the main similarity is that when each of these players went to play for Bologna, their careers were rejuvenated.

There is something about the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region that just rejuvenates a player's career.

Del Piero salutes Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a fake smile thinking "You kept me on the damn bench all that time you were with us..."

Results after the jump.

Bologna-Palermo 1-1
Scorers: 20´ Di Vaio (Bol); 92´ Succi (Pal)
Report.

In Italy the show Scherzi a Parte is like Candid Camera (or Punk'd), and plays practical jokes on various Italian celebrities and films it so we can watch much to our amusement. Over the years there have been many played on Italian footballers and managers, and I have collected the best ones and put them here for your viewing pleasure.

Funny and odd thing happened in this weekend's game between Catania and Torino. Catania had a free kick from about 25 yards out and Catania attacking midfielder Giuseppe Mascara lined up to take it. Everything looked routine, Torino goalkeeper Matteo Sereni set up his wall, and then something very strange occurred.

Roma, languishing in the relegation zone before the derby, took on Lazio, who are flying high in the upper echelons of the table. Roma needed a victory over their rivals to kick-start their season and boost morale, while Lazio were looking to confirm themselves as a side to be reckoned with this season.

This weekend we have one of the most intense derbies to watch, the derby between Roma and Lazio. For more team-specific info, read the Lazio and Roma Offside blogs. I chose to show the highlights of one of the most interesting derbies, the 3-3 draw in 1998-99. Video after the jump.

Because of the Italian National Rugby Team playing a game at the Stadio Olimpico in Torino on Sunday, Juventus-Genoa had to be played today. Juventus have been playing well as of late and have been led by the inspirational play of Alessandro Del Piero. Genoa have proved a tricky opponent this season and have seemed almost unbeatable at home.

News today is that Antonio Cassano has (with the help of writer Gianluigi Pardo) authored his first autobiography, entitled "Vi Dico Tutto" (I'll tell you everything). And as always, Cassano does indeed tell us everything. We'll have to wait for the book to actually be released (it will be on Italian bookshelves next week, November 19 to be exact) to read everything but some excerpts were released and they are quite amusing and interesting.

Since retiring from the calcio world, Roberto Baggio has dedicated himself to his family and has stepped out of the limelight, preferring to live the normal life. Every now and again he'll give the odd interview, and when he does it's always interesting to see what the most skillful player Italy has produced in the last 25 years has to say about the current state of the calcio world.

Can anyone tell me what type of performance enhancing drug Alessandro Del Piero is taking right now? (Juventus fans don't jump on my back, that was my attempt at humor). Another inch perfect free kick, and on his 34th birthday to boot. Serie A results after "il salto" (the jump).

Bologna-Roma 1-1
Scorers: 68´ Totti (Rom); 92´ aut.